He is Michael Vick in a parallel universe. The guy would give his left arm for man’s best friend.

Buehrle hasn’t said what he’ll do, but we know what he did in Miami. Dade County also outlaws pit bulls, so Buehrle lived in Broward County. He and his wife, Jamie, started a drive to end the ban.

“We found out our family wasn’t welcome in Miami-Dade County because of our rescued dogs,” Jamie wrote. “Slater is a pit bull. We were lucky enough to be able to buy a house outside Miami-Dade County so we could keep Slater. Many families aren’t as fortunate, and they love their dogs just as much.”

It’s one thing to commute from Fort Lauderdale to work. Buehrle can’t realistically live in Buffalo to avoid the province-wide ban.

What he should do is show up in Ontario and dare the dog police to take Slater away. A high-profile act of civil disobedience might spark some needed reform.

Like a lot of people, I used to get a little spooked at the sight of a pit bull. I’m still no expert, but it seems everyone who is thinks pit bull laws are bogus.

The American Humane Association, the Humane Society of the United States, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and the U.S. Center for Disease Control have come out against breed-specific bans.

So have the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association and the Toronto Humane Society.

The American Kennel Club recommends pit bulls as ideal family dogs. The American Temperament Test Society gave American pit bull terriers an 86.8 pass rate. That was better than 148 other breeds and above the 82.8 percent average.

The problem is about 99 percent of the time the press treats pit bull attacks like shark attacks. The National Canine Research Council tracked media coverage of dog attacks over a four-day period in 2007.

A Labrador mix attacked a man and got one story in the local paper. A mixed-breed fatally injured a child and got two stories in the local paper. Another mixed-breed attack on a child got one story in the local paper.

Two pit bulls attacked a woman’s dog. It generated 230 newspaper stories and was covered by cable news networks.

No wonder Slater refuses to talk to reporters.

Politicians do, of course. The also have been known to pander to the public’s wishes. Fortunately, some have seen how the facts don’t support the hysteria.

Maryland rescinded its ban, so did the entire country of the Netherlands. Ontario is trying.

“We know that breed-specific legislation doesn’t work,” Parliament member Cheri DiNovo told the CBC. “What we have now is cruel. It’s resulting in the deaths of family pets.”

Animal right groups say thousands of dogs have been destroyed. Nobody knows for sure, but everybody knows what the real problem is when it comes to attacks.

It’s not the dog. It’s the owner.

There’s no doubt Buehrle is a model one. He has three other dogs besides Slater. When he pitched in Chicago, he started “Sox for Strays.” Once a month before a game, sheltered animals would be brought to the park where they could meet fans interested in adoption.

When a stray was found wandering the street with an arrow sticking out of its belly, Buehrle paid the $3,000 medical bill. He loves dogs so much he can’t bring himself to forgive Vick.

“He had a great year and a great comeback,” Buehrle told MLB.com earlier this year. “But there are times when we watched the game, and I know it’s bad to say, but there were times where we hoped he’d get hurt. Everything you’ve done to these dogs, something bad needs to happen to these guys.”